Scan barcode
donnaloubishop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
I'm glad I gave Weirdo another go as I bumped my rating up with one star. It was right mix of creepy and exciting which made it a very page turnery book and I would like to read more by Cathi Usworth for sure.
myrdyr's review against another edition
4.0
I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book; in fact, I almost stopped reading it fairly early on because I had a hard time with the dropped "s" in all the plurals. However, I persevered, and I'm glad I did because it ended up being a very entertaining read. I will look for her other books.
thona's review against another edition
5.0
this book has shaken me to my core and holds my spine regardless y’all. the darkest shades of police corruption, the brutal honesty of accountability and loss, and white teenage girls doing the most. i nearly started a hashtag #FREECORRINEWOODROW I DONE NEARLY LOST MY DAMN MIND SHE AINT DESERVED NONE OF THAT
sarahh1984's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
annelienvan's review against another edition
3.0
Two parallel stories, told in alternating chapters: one set in 1983, the other in 2003. The first story tells about a murder about to happen and the people around it, the latter about a private detective reopening the case 20 years later when new DNA evidence surfaces.
An intriguing set-up: England in the eighties, nice athmosphere, well-written characters. Sadly, the story drowns in the large cast of characters and overly complicated plot. I had a hard time keeping them all apart. Better would have been to split the book in half, first the old story, then the new, or vice versa. It all started to jumble at the half-way point for me.
This could have been great if kept simpler, though the writing itself was really good.
An intriguing set-up: England in the eighties, nice athmosphere, well-written characters. Sadly, the story drowns in the large cast of characters and overly complicated plot. I had a hard time keeping them all apart. Better would have been to split the book in half, first the old story, then the new, or vice versa. It all started to jumble at the half-way point for me.
This could have been great if kept simpler, though the writing itself was really good.
greenblack's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
This was a random selection from the library shelves and I couldn't put it down, a really good crime novel from a writer I haven't heard of before and will definitely want to read more of. The plot centres around a murder in 1983 in a Norfolk seaside town. I liked the fact that whilst we know a murder has occurred the reader doesn't know who has been killed save that a woman is in a psychiatric unit as the murderer and in 2003 a former met police officer is investigating a miscarriage of justice. It was refreshing that this book centres on the youths at the centre of the crime rather than the detective and the sense of place and time was very believable. I rattled through it and found surprises right to the very end and would recommend it to crime lovers. I was really tempted to put it up to 5 stars save that I felt that the finale was dragged out a little bit and it could of lost 30 pages and I felt something that happens to a villain was a bit too convenient but saying that I don't think it decries from a book that I really enjoyed a lot and I suspect that the author is a talent to watch for crime fiction enthusiasts.
paulcowdell's review against another edition
3.0
Possible spoiler in 3rd par.
This is terrific, and she's a really engaging writer. I didn't find it as successful as her splendid [b:That Old Black Magic|44596360|That Old Black Magic|Cathi Unsworth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582155974l/44596360._SY75_.jpg|57783633], but its Norfolk Noir is excellently painted.
It seems somewhat hampered by its rigid structure, as if she's not quite able to use it to cut loose in the way she does with the much more adept (if that's not too wilfully a magical term) That Old Black Magic. Despite the interlocking of past and present stories, both still unfold in linear form, so the calculation feels technical and not necessarily to the benefit of the narrative (although it does allow her one really nice withhold in relation to the details of the original crime, which I found suspicious at first but then really started playing with me). The interlocking is also extremely formal and regularised, which adds to the unfold being really rather slow over the first half of the book. She's a good enough writer for it still to work and be readable, however, and it certainly adds to the crazily vertiginous acceleration of the second half, but the final chapter's tying up of loose ends gave me a definite sense of technical construction rather than organic existence.
Possible spoiler
This book felt like a step towards striking up the relationship with her audience that she'd hit better in due course, but there's nothing wrong with that. For this reasonably well informed reader, for example (and I'm part of the target audience, I guess), the final final reveal had been firing a giant klaxon Significance Alert from its first appearance nearly 400 pages earlier. But I'm not complaining: if I've gone on about it at such length it's because what does work in it is great, and well worth your time.
This is terrific, and she's a really engaging writer. I didn't find it as successful as her splendid [b:That Old Black Magic|44596360|That Old Black Magic|Cathi Unsworth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582155974l/44596360._SY75_.jpg|57783633], but its Norfolk Noir is excellently painted.
It seems somewhat hampered by its rigid structure, as if she's not quite able to use it to cut loose in the way she does with the much more adept (if that's not too wilfully a magical term) That Old Black Magic. Despite the interlocking of past and present stories, both still unfold in linear form, so the calculation feels technical and not necessarily to the benefit of the narrative (although it does allow her one really nice withhold in relation to the details of the original crime, which I found suspicious at first but then really started playing with me). The interlocking is also extremely formal and regularised, which adds to the unfold being really rather slow over the first half of the book. She's a good enough writer for it still to work and be readable, however, and it certainly adds to the crazily vertiginous acceleration of the second half, but the final chapter's tying up of loose ends gave me a definite sense of technical construction rather than organic existence.
Possible spoiler
Spoiler
What also gives the impression of its more or less technical construction are a couple of themes/motifs that aren't quite developed or fruitful: they look like good ideas that didn't quite take off but weren't quite dropped either. There are some passing Matthew Hopkins references that don't really take off, and the Captain Swing stuff isn't followed through sufficiently to develop into either a red herring or a Macguffin, which is a pity because it's worked so nicely into the protagonist's backstory. (Readers who already know about Swing will be wanting more done with it because it's so tangential to what else is being discussed here).This book felt like a step towards striking up the relationship with her audience that she'd hit better in due course, but there's nothing wrong with that. For this reasonably well informed reader, for example (and I'm part of the target audience, I guess), the final final reveal had been firing a giant klaxon Significance Alert from its first appearance nearly 400 pages earlier. But I'm not complaining: if I've gone on about it at such length it's because what does work in it is great, and well worth your time.
sara_collier's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this crime/mystery book. The switching between the 1980s and 20 years later really makes for a page turning read. My mind was racing throughout trying to work out what had happened and why.